Customer Reviews

Kenotic

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From the first to the final fade, the music is a whisper. Each piece washes the dust from the bed sheets, It's as though the band is literally writing music to clouds in the sky. If that were the case, it could end up as a form of environmental music. Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson are the brilliant minds behind this great album. They both helped write one of my all time favorite albums, "The Inbetween Time", By Common Children.

When your music is light and airy, you need to make sure it's compelling.This effort is not short of compelling. While Hammock aren't exactly breaking new ground. "Kenotic" rumbles by like a cold draft coming in through a slightly open window, or like a tiny shift in the atmosphere. Each song feels like it's attempting to bring peace to the soul. Hammock has succeeded in crafting a remarkable debut album, both in terms of songwriting and in sonic architecture. It's albums like this one that make me wish I was an artist. I wish I could bring myself write in detail about each song. But in doing so this review would drag on for days.

This isn't really anything we haven't heard from Marc and Andrew in the past. It's really just an extension of the backdrop of alot of what was heard on "The Inbetween Time." Except it's pretty much all instrumental music. But in saying that, you would crazy not to pick this one up and give it a whirl. You won't be sorry.

Wow, this is pretty. If one had to assign a genre here, "instrumental atmospheric post-rock" might do. Heavily delayed and effected guitars form soothing soundscapes, with low-key bass and drums accompaniment. Occasionally female vocals (mixed way back a la My Bloody Valentine) and cello add color. Some musical reference points might be the Cocteau Twins or the Verve's first album as covered by Bill Frisell. Like Frisell, Hammock expertly convey the quiet openness of rural America, though with fewer quirks and more bliss. Despite the stubbornly diatonic harmonies, there is much skill and subtlety here.

This album does what very few instrumental albums manage: the music moves you through a progression of powerful emotion without ever breathing one word of a story. There is an incredible atmosphere to these songs that truly can't be matched no matter who you look to.

I just wish that the songs were streamed here on Amazon.com so that people could listen and found out how amazing Hammock really is. Thankfully you can do yourself a favor and stream the whole album from their page at www.hammockmusic.com

Trust me, you'll be back here to make a purchase in no time.

I grabbed the disc when it first became available, after hearing only a 50 sec. clip that they had posted. I had to own it, even if it was only a mere 50 seconds worth of scintillating sounds. I have yet to make it through a day without transcending space and time with Kenotic. The attempt to describe what lies within via the 'About Hammock' subheading is about all the justice that words can do; damn near spot on as far what words are capable of conveying. Our last snow storm graced the north-east about three weeks or so ago. The 2:00am hour had come and gone, the snow still cascading through the vacant streets of my suburbian sanctuary. I donned my over coat and knit cap and gloves and Hammock disc, and stepped out into the last remaining winter moment of the season. Since that moment of ambling around my deserted streets for some 45 minutes I have attempted to relay my own thoughts and feelings in the written word of what was contained in those early morning, snow-laden minutes...failing miserably. Everything was summed up without flaw in the contents of your disc. Words would only do your soundscapes the greatest injustice. Not since the release of the likes of Just For a Day and Slouvaki have I been moved to such extraordinary heights of life affirming grandeur. I burned a copy of Kenotic and sent it airmail to a dear friend of mine who is spending a year abroad in Brighton, England. I forewarned her of what was to come. Of those moments, those fleeting opportune slices of happenstance that open the eyes wide and pique the heart to the breaking of all that is tangible in life...this collection that is Kenotic will no doubt be the soundtrack that you have been waiting to accompany all of those moments in their varying facets.
You've struck a chord, to say the least. I commend you for birthing into the music world what is a vast and streaming gem of beauty. And I thank you for taking the time to read these futile (and oh so verbose) words of expression. I now have a soundtrack haven to the existence that is this life...
Best wishes,

*luke*

I bought Hammock's "Kenotic" the moment it became available online, after hearing samples of the music on their website www.hammockmusic.com. I was instantly caught up in the beautiful sounds found on the disc once I received it. Somehow, this band has been able to communicate to the deepest reaches of my soul through music. I know that sounds little contrived and odd, but it's true. Hammock writes the soundtrack to my soul: music that is fluid, pensive, longing, aching, infinite, and altogether intimate.

"Kenotic" features an array of sounds such as strings, keyboards, drums and percussion, ethereal singing, spoken word and field recordings, but the main tool used by the band to create their music is guitar. The band breathes life into their delayed and affected guitars with a sensitivity and attention to melody and space that is rare to hear in music. With 16 tracks stretched out over 70 minutes, I found myself getting lost within the folds of reverb, drones, and ambient sounds. The band depicts vibrant scenes within their music that match perfectly with the titles of their songs ("Glacial", "Overcast/Sorrow", "Winter Light", "Stars in the Rearview Mirror", etc). Hammock sets the mood for daydreaming, stargazing, nighttime driving on country roads, and simple contemplation about life.

So rarely does a band touch me like this. The music, at least for me, transcends the simple listening to pleasant sounds that most recordings evoke in me. Rather, "Kenotic" reaches into my psyche and affirms me. I have a feeling that it would do the same for other listeners willing to absorb this CD. How can guitars, blended with other dreamy sounds, move me in such a deep manner? I'm not sure, but Hammock has figured out how to create art that deeply resonates within me...their melodies linger in my head as I fall to sleep, as I peer out over my local surroundings, and as I go about my daily life.

I imagine fans of Windy and Carl, Slowdive, Stars of the Lid (and their various side-projects), and other ambient/soundscape/ethereal recordings would LOVE "Kenotic". I highly recommend it!

Fans of Sigur Ros, Mogwai, and Explosions in The Sky: This is a must!! Never before have I heard such beautiful music. Words alone cannot describe the emotions this music provokes.

If you can imagine of a music gentle enough to swing you into a deep and relaxing sleep, along with the breeze blowing in your face, you can imagine how Hammock's "Kenotic" is. Hammock's production comes in as a blend that borders ambient and post-rock very subtly, almost not wanting to be one or the other. What really matters is that their sound can be as soothing as Tristeza's or The Album Leaf's, and as symbolic and obscure as Sigur Ros' at times. The end result is one of those albums you can listen to over and over again, without noticing the pass of time... like watching the clouds pass by. I've found it to be great to relax and meditate, so it's certainly turned into one of my favorites in 2005 so far.

Not much that I can add that has not already been said. I predict that in a year or so this band will be just as popular as Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai and Godspeed You Black Emperor. There is a 4 song 12" coming out soon on Republic of Texas Recordings [www.republicoftexasrecordings.com] so everyone should keep an eye out for that.

This album lulls me into a blissful reverie. I know it's not scientific, and you'd probably prefer a run-down on every song. But let me say this: until recently, I had them in my playlist at Rhapsody and turned to them again and again and again and --. Finally I broke down and bought the CD, more to reward the band for bringing such joy to my life than out of a need for ownership. This music dwells in loveliness: swirls of cello, echoing female vocals (Sirens luring my boat to the rocks!), big beefy bass and washes of aching guitar. This is music for Sunday morning or late night drives, cascading and spiraling through an enchanted world. If you need a recharge on your beauty meter, consider giving this album the run of your music-delivery device. I once saw a bumper sticker "MUSIC SAVES" from my favorite band, The Verve. Well, this music is soul therapy. I LOVE it with all my heart.

Kenotic charms the listener with gauzy, textural pieces alternating with more rhythmic, foward moving numbers. What really sets Hammock apart from all the other bands of this genre are the great single note and chordal guitar hooks dispersed throughout this excellent disk.
Kenotic is reminiscent of the timeless sounds of the amazing bands of the mid to late 90's Michigan scene. Early Windy and Carl and Auburn Lull come to mind. This is not to say that Hammock have not forged their own blissful sound, because they certainly have.This CD is ample proof.